August i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



99 



Cultivation of China Gr^s-^ in Br\zii,. — Accord- 

 ing to the Central Blatt filr Textil laduHlrie a conoeesion 

 has been granted to a German firm seciirinu to them 

 various rights as to the treatment of the fibre for paper- 

 mal<iu» purposes. Scientific researches have resulted 

 in fully establishinor the climatic advantages of Brazil 

 with reference to China grass cultivation. — P. T. Journal. 

 Coconuts Shipped to England. — I understand that 

 there is no demand now for coconuts to be shipped to 

 Kngland which was done to a great extent last year, and 

 the reason given i^, I believe, a true one ; that the brokers 

 receiving short notice of extensive orders used to buy up 

 immature nuts from the ilifferent gardens in the vicinity 

 of Colombo, which, when shipped to Kngland, and received 

 tliore, are principally found to be spoilt and unfit for the 

 purpose required ; hence there is an extensive falling-off 

 in the Bbi/<ping of nuts this j'ear. — Cor. 



Gamfola District has n't experienced auch ajfine 

 planting monsoon for many years. Today it has been 

 raining very heavily, preventing outdoor work. The 

 tea on old Sinnapittia is fast covering the ground 

 and in a year or two will be nosidea with Mariawatte. 

 Black-bug very bad and is killing out the few eofTee 

 trees left. Cacao, X fear, will be a failure in this district 

 unless shade is planted amongst it. There was a good 

 blossom out six weeks ago, but hardly any of it set. 

 Helop'ltia is blamed for doing more harm than 

 it really does. Thripi is the worst enemy the 

 cacao tree has got, and if anyone will take the trouble 

 t) examine the insect under a microscope, they will 

 find it full of green juice sucked from the young 

 leaves. On more than one estate in this district they 

 have done a great deal of harm. 



CiNciioxA. — In former years when the Cinchona Indus- 

 try was in its infancy, and a larger number of plantations 

 were being opened out by private growers at Ootacamund 

 and other places, there was necessarily a very large 

 demand for cinchona leed and cinchona young plants ; 

 and as the Government plantations were the oldest 

 and most noted in the districts, the growers naturally 

 applied to Government to supply their needs. This 

 went on for several years, until the new plantations I 

 were able to supply their owners, with what Govern- | 

 ment before had only been able to produce. Again, 

 these new plantations are now able to compete with 

 the Government in the sale of seed and plants. Owing 

 to the grfat depreciation which has recently occurred 

 in the value of cinchona bark, the public have been 

 deterred from increasing their plantations, or from 

 opening new ones. The miscallaneoua receipts of the 

 Ooty plantations from 1877 78 to 1SS4 85 aggregated 

 1^52, 5S2. — Indian Agriculturist. 



Ramdoda: District and Weather Report: 30th 

 June. — The monsoon set in mildly about the end of 

 May ; and up to within the last few days we have had 

 most perfect planting weather. Since the middle of 

 last week however — with the exception of one fine 

 day (Saturday)— the rainfall has Ijeen so heavy and 

 persistent as to put a stop to all work. It as still 

 raining heavily, and we may expect to hear of Hoods 

 in the lowcountry and mora slips on the railway, 

 traffic on which no doubt interrupted, na Monday's 

 Ohsirver has not yet come to hand. Tea is being 

 extensively planted on mony estates : in some cases 

 amongst the coffee— in others the cott'.je is being 

 removed and a fresh start m^de with the new pro- 

 duct. The latter plan will doubtless prove the most 

 satisfactory in the end, as the lining, hnlmg and 

 planting can all be done much better with a clear 

 tleld to work on. Sill one can quite understard a 

 planter's reluctance t> uproot coffee that ha? given 

 good crops in time past, and maij — so many think — 

 do so ajain if it only gcis fair plaj. Lubour is 

 f.iirly abundant for present requirements, though some 

 not overpopular employers fiud it necessary to give 

 (Ivaoces to obtain cooliei). 



( Bauiiinia Vahi.ii, a Gigantic Creeper, the stem 

 \ of which sometimes atta ua a circumference of five 

 feet (!) is thus noticed in the proceedings of the Horti- 

 cultural Society of India ; — From Capta n Pogson, en- 

 closing a letter to him, from Mr. Smythii^s, Deputy 

 I Conservative of Forests, Dehra Doon, a id forwarding 

 a parcel of Bauhinia Vahlii seeds : Mr. Sniythies siys 

 "this is one of the commonest climbers in India, and 

 has a wide range. I should be glad if the natives 

 would eat the seeds, pluck all the leaves, and cut 

 down all the stems of this climber in our forests. 

 We wage war against it, and have already cleared 

 a considerable tract in Rangarh of this we-'d. Tlie 

 stem is sometimes fice feet in girth, and the leaves 

 range up to 18 inches diameter. We annually grant 

 a large sum for the destruction of this climber, and 

 eventually shall exterminate it ; but it.will be a wuik of 

 time. In the open forests, I am afraid, it will remain for 

 ever." Captain Pogson remarks that it is a pity such 

 quantities of this superior fibre should not be utilized. 

 Tea Planting IN Darjkelino : No. 3 Sirocco. — No 

 rain, and a high, parchiogly drying wind every after- 

 noon have been the characteristics of the weather dur- 

 ing the last fortnight. I am sorry to say that our ch 'to, 

 bursal has been a failure and a humbug, with the natural 

 result that tea planters are beginning to feel decidedly 

 anxious at the prospect before tbem. As it is the com- 

 menceoient of the manufactu -ing season «ai later than 

 usual, and so far aa I can gather the quality of tea 

 made in the hills 1 3 date is less than last year, while 

 the quality is by no means an improvement on last 

 April's ; and, yet, the " experts" who sit "at home at 

 case" will not Ijelieve that weather can have anything 

 j to do with the quality of the crop. It ii no v c-;rtaiu 

 that the second Hush, owing to drought, will not be 

 ready for plucking as sion as in ordinary years, lloiv- 

 1 ever, "care killed the cat " and all planters can do is 

 to hope for more favorable we ither later on, and make 

 the best of what has been a bad busiuu^s so f'.ir lliij 

 season. One gUam of comfort ii that l.ibor ii viry 

 plentiful, so that there will be no difficulty in taking 

 the leaf oft' when it is fit to pluck. You aaked me tie 

 other day to let you know wh it I thought of the Ko. 3 

 Sirocco. 1 give you my opinion in full. 1 arn afraid 

 it i< not altogether favorable. In the first place, i; ij 

 e isy to put up, and when up is neat and dean aud has 

 one very great a ivantage, and tint is you can see and 

 handle the leaf throughout the whole proceas, and 

 that there is no fear of burning at any time, it dries tea 

 quicker than the old way, and the teas certainly have 

 a flavor of their own. Uettin^' up heat is much more 

 expensive than is represented by the invoator, for with 

 dry luood we use from li) to 25 niaunds in a day ; that 

 is, of course, going up lo 9 p in., and the result is only 

 7 mauuda of j}ucca tea. Another point is that it is said 

 only to take a man and a boy to attend to it ; uhereas 

 when we work for 14 hours, or even 10, it takes at least 

 .S, sometimes 4, hill men. But, of course, all theje draw- 

 backs will be more tban compensated for should the 

 Sirocco dried teas get half more per pound tlian the 

 cliuhi dried teas. I do not think that at the best of 

 times we shall be able to do more than 7 to 8 mauuds of 

 jmcca tea, though the inventor says, I believe, 13i. 

 The great test of the drier will be as to whether its 

 teas fetch a higher price. If they do that then we 

 may overlook its other defects, at present they value it 

 a little higher in Calcutta. Your readers will see that 

 in this opinion nothing ia extenuated and naught "set 

 down to malice," and 1 am sure both the public and 

 the inventor will be glad of an honest opinion on the 

 drier. I will have more to say about the Sirocco as 

 the season goea on, as there is no doubt that a really 

 perfect tea drier has a great and useful future before 

 it, and would be a fortune to the inventor ai well 

 aa an immense saving in the production of te».— » 

 Iitdiaii iiauUrs' Uazcttc, April 28tl). 



